The Woodpecker Taper Sled (not to be confused with their taper jig) is not cheap at $220 before taxes and shipping. The Internet is filled with guides on how to make cheap taper sleds from the most basic ones using just scraps and screws to very elaborate ones utilizing clamps, t-tracks, etc. Most commercially available sleds seems to be about $100 (plus-or-minus $30). The Woodpecker Taper Sled is twice that price so is this another example of paying a brand name premium?
Compared to a DIY basic sled even a $100 commercial ones might be overpriced, but what about a more elaborate version that is reusable and adaptable similar to the commercial one?
I decided to price out what it might cost me to build an similar sled to the Woodpecker sled:
- Miter Bar ($30) - these wouldn't be as fancy as the ones Woodpecker use so it would require manual adjustments.
- Jig Kit ($30) - I got lazy and didn't want to price out the specific knobs and bolts and would just buy a common kit with everything I'd need.
- T-slot Bit ($40) - Woodpecker cut t-slots directly into the plywood rather than using T-tracks so I'm estimating this is how much a t-slot bit will cost me.
- Hold-down clamps ($16) - A pair of hold-downs are relatively cheap.
- Fence ($20) - Woodpecker uses a steel knuckle fence that a Superstrut might be able to mostly mimic.
- Plywood ($40) - Rough estimate based on a half sheet of 3/4" plywood considering how prices have been fluctuating so much.
- Mount Rack - Can be made from scraps but wouldn't be as nice as the steel hangers the sled comes with.
- Non-slip surface (???) - might skip this as I don't know what this is.
- Tape measure ($10)
The total comes to $186 with only the T-slot bit being usable beyond the sled. That's only a $34 savings with some of the parts being downgrades (miter bar, fence, mount rack) and there's also the time and labor to consider. The materials of the Woodpecker sled seems to be higher quality then what other commercial sleds comes with (e.g. the fence of most commercial sleds seems to be a straight piece of plywood, mdf or plastic) for what its worth.
None of this information will give a general answer as to whether it's better to buy versus build. If you get joy building jigs then I'd recommend building your own.
If you rather not build then it becomes whether the Woodpecker sled is twice as good as other commercial sleds. I ultimately decided to go with the Woodpecker sled. I previously built a very basic sled with just scraps and screws and it was okay. I had "build a complete taper sled" on my todo list that I just kept putting off (thus labor time obviously is a factor in my case) and I like the "extras" that Woodpecker sled has: adjustable miter bar, steel fence, and mount-it rack. These all added to its value above other commercial sleds. The time and effort saved from building the jig was worth it for me.
